


Gifts to Share

by kuragay



Series: Natsume Week 2020 [2]
Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Natsume's very pretty and very nice, Tumblr: Natsume Week, Tumblr: Natsume Week 2020, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25045438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuragay/pseuds/kuragay
Summary: Fresh out of college, Natsume runs into a boy who can see youkai as well. Or rather, the boy runs into him.-“You’re a friend of Natsume-sama’s?” one of the Chukyuus asks.“He is,” Natsume answers, and Maki positively beams. He seems overwhelmed when the youkai all clamber over, bombarding him with questions, but he’s smiling, his eyes bright, his cheeks flushed.“They’re so...lively,” Maki whispers in Natsume’s ear when things quiet down a little twenty minutes later, and Natsume laughs.“They are.”“I’ve never met youkai like this.”“Neither have I, before I met them.”Then Maki looks up at Natsume, shyly, his fingers twisting in front of him as he contemplates something. “Thank you,” he finally says after several long beats of silence, “for sharing this with me.”-Day 2: Future
Relationships: Natsume Takashi & Original Character(s), Natsume Takashi & Youkai
Series: Natsume Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812550
Comments: 9
Kudos: 151





	Gifts to Share

The boy runs straight into Natsume, barreling into his legs at breakneck speed, and they both go down hard onto the sidewalk, the groceries Natsume was carrying rolling out of their bags and onto the street.

“Oh my god!” The boy cries, already on his knees and helping Natsume shove the groceries back into the bags. “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry!” then the boy glances behind Natsume and shrieks, stumbling backwards until he falls right back down, hands gripping the edge of the sidewalk so hard his knuckles go white. He looks at Natsume, eyes darting to and fro in panic, and realization only sets in when Natsume checks behind him to see a giant, horrific chicken-like dragon youkai breathing down his neck. How he didn’t notice earlier, he’s not sure. He blames it on how tired the months leading to graduation have made him.

“Oh,” he says, and the boy breathes hard. “Can you...see them too?” He makes sure his expression is as gentle as possible, and he watches as the boy’s mouth opens and closes, grasping for words as his eyes fill with tears.

From appearance alone, the boy is probably thirteen or fourteen, his hair a dark brown, his eyes matching. He looks at Natsume like he’s seen a ghost, or maybe he’s just looking at Tama. It’s hard to tell.

“I--there’s a--there’s a youkai,” the boy swallows, “behind you.”

Natsume nods, patient, and stands up slowly as to not startle the boy anymore. When he reaches to help the boy up too, he’s surprised that the boy actually takes his hand, letting Natsume pull him to his feet.

“He looks scary,” Natsume says as Tama’s face bends low to nudge against Natsume’s, and Natsume smiles softly, letting his fingers fluff through Tama’s feathers. “But he’s really gentle as long as you’re kind in return. His name is Tama.

“And,” Natsume adds, “He’s supposed to be waiting at home.” He sends Tama a scolding look, and Tama ducks even lower, as if to avoid his gaze. 

“Is he,” the boys hesitates. “Is he yours?”

That gives Natsume pause, at least for a little bit. Tama’s important to Natsume, and Natsume--technically--is Tama’s parent, which is incredibly strange to think about. Distantly, he finds amusement in the thought that he raised a baby at the age of sixteen. 

“He’s important to me,” Natsume settles on, “but he’s not mine.”

The boy looks at Natsume with an expression that Natsume can’t really discern. His mouth is opened, maybe in awe, and his eyes are starry. “I thought they all hated humans.”

“That’s not true,” Natsume says, hand now scratching Tama’s head as the youkai trills. “Some of them do, but a lot of them are kind.” He makes a decision then, when he looks at the boy and sees something like hope. “Would you like to come with me? I’m meeting up with some of them right now.” It’s maybe not safe to offer a boy he doesn’t know to follow him into the forest. It’s oddly axe-murdery now that he thinks it through, but before he can take it back, the boy grabs Natsume’s hands, a delighted noise coming from his mouth.

“Really? Do you mean that?”

Natume can no longer rescind his offer, it seems, so he smiles instead, tucking a strand of pale hair behind his ears. Sensei might give him an earful when he shows up with a straggler, but Sensei has no authority over him anyway.

“Yes. As long as you help me carry the snacks.” He picks the grocery backs off the floor, and the boy eagerly takes one. This is hope that can be cultivated, that Natsume didn’t have until the Fujiwara’s--Until Tanuma and Take, and Nishimura and Kitamoto. If he can offer any semblance of relief, of belonging and kindness to this boy, he will. 

-

The boy’s name is Maki, he’s thirteen, and he has a family who loves him but who also doesn’t try to understand him.

“How old are you, Natsume?” Maki asks, swinging the grocery bag with each step as they walk through the forest. The trees are large and covered in leaves, blotting out most of the sun, but puddles of light still pool on the forest floor for smaller plants to fight for.

“I’m twenty-three,” Natsume says, and Maki looks up, mouth parted and eyes wide.

“You look younger,” he says, and Natsume laughs.

“Really?”

Maki nods enthusiastically. “You do! I thought maybe you were a youkai when I first saw you.” As if embarrassed, Maki’s cheeks flush, and he suddenly grows shy.

Natsume doesn’t respond, but he hums a noise to let Maki know he’s heard. 

Still, even though Natsume doesn’t ask for an explanation, Maki still explains. “You’re just... really pretty. It doesn’t look natural. And your hair and eyes are strange and pale.”

Natsume smiles now, and shakes his head as a laugh bubbles forth. “Thank you, I think,” he says, and Maki somehow turns even more scarlet. Up above, flying beyond the trees, Tama squacks as if he heard Natsume laugh. “Don’t get lost now,” Natsume says when he notices Maki lagging behind. “We’re almost there.”

Sure enough, they make a left and the trees part to a clearing, the Dog’s Circle already all gathered, cups of sake being passed around.

Tama lands with a heavy thud, the trees swaying as his wings flap before coming to a rest, and the Dog’s Circle sits up, alert.

“Natsume!” Nyanko-sensei calls, bounding over, squinty, happy eyes telling Natsume that he’s already drunk, and the stench of Sake confirming it. He hops onto Natsume’s head, messing up Natsume’s hair, and only then notices Maki who’s gripping onto Natsume’s shirt. “You brought a kid?!”

It’s like he instantly sobers up, and he hops down and starts sniffing Maki’s leg. “A human child?!”

With the sudden attention of every youkai on him, Maki shrinks back, and Natsume puts a hand on his shoulder protectively. 

“Sensei,” he admonishes, and the cat takes a hint, turning his nose up before trotting back to the group. Slowly, on Maki’s own time, they make their way over, and Maki sits in the grass next to Natsume, the shock giving way to wonder.

Maki looks around like he’s trying to drink in everything, eyes opening even wider when Hinoe waltzes over, resting her elbows on Natsume’s head. 

“And there’s my little college graduate,” she says, “as beautiful as ever.” She plants a kiss on his cheek, and Natsume warms, letting Hinoe stroke delicate fingers through his hair.

“Maki, this is Hinoe,” he introduces. “Hinoe, this is Maki. He can see youkai, too.”

Hinoe regards Maki almost coldly, but when Natsume coughs as a warning, she loosens, drawing back. 

“He’s not very powerful,” she says, distasteful, “And he’s a man.” 

“He’s a boy,” Natsume corrects, knowing without looking that Hinoe’s rolling her eyes. “And he’s welcome here because I welcomed him.”

“How presumptuous,” Hinoe snorts, but she acquiesces. 

Despite Hinoe’s first impression, Maki doesn’t seem deterred, and the rest of the Dog’s Circle are in bright spirits at the prospect of Natsume bringing a guest.

“You’re a friend of Natsume-sama’s?” one of the Chukyuus asks. 

“He is,” Natsume answers, and Maki positively beams. He seems overwhelmed when the youkai all clamber over, bombarding him with questions, but he’s smiling, his eyes bright, his cheeks flushed.

“They’re so...lively,” Maki whispers in Natsume’s ear when things quiet down a little twenty minutes later, and Natsume laughs.

“They are.”

“I’ve never met youkai like this.”

“Neither have I, before I met them.”

Then Maki looks up at Natsume, shyly, his fingers twisting in front of him as he contemplates something. “Thank you,” he finally says after several long beats of silence, “for sharing this with me.”

Natsume remembers cold homes, loneliness, and the painful feeling of having nowhere safe to go. He remembers alcohol on breaths, hands that hurt, and eyes watching him from closets. He remembers nightmares, ignored pleas for help, and harsh words spoken quietly. He remembers having no one. He remembers feeling torn and empty, isolated and unloved.

When he looks at Maki, he can’t help but see himself even though their situations are different--and by god he’s glad they’re different. But Maki also has eyes that break, a waver in his voice like he’s scared of saying the wrong things, and it reminds Natsume deeply of days when he had nothing. Now he has everything, and it seems only fair to share it with someone. 

“If you want, I can give you my number,” Natsume says. “So if any youkai are bothering you, you can call me and I can help you deal with them.”

He’s caught off guard when Maki’s arms are thrown around him, a small cheek smooshed on his shoulder, but the surprise transitions easily to a peaceful fondness. 

After numbers are shared, and after the sun sets, Natsume walks Maki home, and Maki bows at the door.

“Thank you again,” he says, but Natsume just shakes his head.

“I’m happy I got to show you my friends.”

They part ways, and Natsume’s feet find the familiar path that leads to home. It’s dark out now, and he hasn’t seen Touko and Shigeru in months. (He doesn’t know that they’re waiting with a cake that says ‘Happy Graduation.’ He doesn’t know that they’ve repainted the walls of his bedroom. He doesn’t know that the garden is blooming with his favourite flowers. But he knows he misses them, and he knows they love him, and he knows that they will always welcome him home).


End file.
